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Gear reviews | La Sportiva Spectre 2.0

Convincing boot for downhill-oriented ski tourers

by Christian Skala 02/12/2019
The Spectre 2.0 proves that La Sportiva not only makes good climbing boots, but also scores points in the ski touring boot segment! The enhanced ski touring boot is convincingly tailored to the needs of downhill-oriented ski tourers.

About the tester

First of all, about me: I'm male, 39 years old and weigh around 70 kg at 175 cm tall. I now spend more days touring than skiing, so I've been able to use the Spectre 2.0 a lot. My touring is downhill-oriented, which means that the boot should not only be comfortable and easy to wear on the ascent, but should also offer stability on the descent and come as close as possible to an alpine boot. Tech bindings are fitted to all my touring skis. With around 50 to 60 days of skiing per season, I have developed certain requirements for ski boots, especially touring boots; after all, a good touring boot should work in any conditions.

First impression

In recent years, I have been using the Dynafit Mercury and this boot provided the combination of comfortable ascent and descent performance described above to my satisfaction. So far, I have mainly used La Sportiva shoes for climbing and trekking and was very satisfied with them. So I was all the more excited about the touring boot from La Sportiva.

According to the manufacturer's advertising, the Spectre 2.0 should offer the "combination of power, control, durability and precision of a piste boot and the agility, maneuverability and lightness of a ski touring boot" that I wanted. The four-buckle boot with powerstrap and a Grilamid shell weighs 1445 grams in the tested size of 27.5. The sole length is only 303 mm due to the compact design, just like the Dynafit Mercury, so I was pleased that I didn't have to re-drill my bindings.

The Spectre 2.0 is compatible with Tech, AT, Skitrab TR2 and Marker KingPin bindings. The liner of the Spectre 2.0 is an EZ Thermo Liner, which can be thermally adjusted. As the boot fitted me perfectly right from the start, I didn't make any thermal adjustments. The liner also comes with a WarmSole insert, which I use. Protective pads are also supplied for any friction points. You can lace up the inner boot, but I personally don't do this.

The boot offers three different heel angles: 10°, 14° and 18°. Since I ride the Mercury with an angle of 18°, I decided to set this for the Spectre 2.0 too. On the top two buckles, you can mount the buckle fixation in three different positions. The individual buckle lengths can be varied by turning them. At first glance, the buckle fixings seem a little "fiddly". The fixation is adjusted at the start of each tour and then remains in position - only the buckle itself is opened or closed. At the back of the boot, the Fast-Lock system (small, easy-to-operate lever) allows you to switch between ascent and descent mode.

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Practical use

The Spectre 2.0 shines on the ascent with a large shaft rotation of 60° and is therefore very comfortable to wear, especially on longer flat passages. The buckle fixation (with the buckle open), which is already set at the start of the tour, does not interfere at all when walking and does not restrict the range of movement. You have a stable and precise feeling in the boot, e.g. on hairpin bends in more difficult terrain.

Since you only have to flip the lever of the Fast-Lock system and close the buckles when switching to downhill mode, switching from ascent to descent is easy, comfortable and quick. During the test phase, I never had any technical problems when changing over. The boot offers a very pleasant flex behavior on the descent (according to the manufacturer 125). It balances out and cushions impacts or hard ground in particular. In my weight class, it can be skied directly and with control. The good fit supports the control of the ski in the best possible way and thanks to the various options for adjusting the buckles, the boot can be perfectly adapted to individual preferences. I personally found the Spectre 2.0 to be very stable on the descent. After around 20 days of touring, I still haven't noticed any signs of wear on the Spectre 2.0.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the Spectre 2.0 is the better boot compared to the Mercury, both for ascents and descents. The boot is highly recommended for skiers in my weight class. It is a boot for downhill-oriented tourers that is fun in all snow conditions and combines stability, lightness and good maneuverability.

Advantages and disadvantages

+ Stability in downhill mode even for wide skis

+ Lightweight

+ Excellent shaft rotation in walking mode

+ Numerous adjustment options

+ Good workmanship

- Quick-Step inserts from Dynafit would be a tad easier to get on

Details

RP: 529,00 €

Shell: Grilamid®

Shaft Diffuser: Pebax®

Spoiler: Marfram

Vertebra: Carbon Reinforced Grilamid®

Tongue: PEBAX® Rnew® bio-based

Flex: 125

Fastening system: 4 + Power Strap

Flexibility: 60°

Weight: 1445 gr (1/2 pair size 27.5)

Sizes: 24 - 31˝ (mondo point in half sizes)

Compatibility with bindings: Tech, AT, Skitrab TR2

Sole: Vibram®

Here is the link to the La Sportiva website for more information. Here you can buy the Spectre 2.0 from our partner store Bergzeit.de.

This article was provided to PowderGuide free of charge by the manufacturer. You can find out how we test in our test statement.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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